Dec. 6, 2016
AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Juniors Jesse Earl and Alexa Filley of the Auburn volleyball team were honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association Tuesday as the Tiger duo picked up AVCA All-South Region accolades.
The postseason honors are the second of the year for both Earl and Filley. The pair were placed on the All-SEC team, marking the first time a Tiger was recognized by the conference since Camila Jersonsky in 2013.
The All-South team honor is the second straight for Earl. The libero from Indianapolis had a record-breaking season for the Tigers, exceling both in the back row and at the service line. She broke her own single-season digs record and became the first Tiger to reach 600 digs in a season, having 612 over 123 sets played. Her digs total helped Earl become the 12th player in program history to record 1,000 or more career digs and she currently ranks seventh overall with 1,128.
In addition, her 4.98 digs/set average also set a new single season record and led all student-athletes in the Southeastern Conference.
Earl finished the year with double-digit digs in 30 of the team's 31 matches. That included 14 20+ dig performances. She recorded a season-best 29 digs on two occasions ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" at Mississippi State (9/30), vs. Ole Miss (11/6). Earl also picked up five double-doubles (digs/assists) on the season and averaged 1.53 assists/set.
From the service line, Earl was among the best in the league in service aces with a .37 aces/set average. Her team-leading 46 on the season set a new single season record (rally scoring only), while her average also set a new program best. Earl record two or more aces on 13 occasions, setting a career-high with five at Georgia (10/2).
Filley, a setter from Louisville, was placed on the All-South Honorable Mention team for the second-consecutive year. She led the team with 1,227 assists on the season for a 9.98 average over 123 sets played. That total placed Filley seventh on Auburn's single-season records list.
Filley had an outstanding year in all rotations for the Tigers, finishing with a team-best 18 double-doubles (assists/digs). Highlighting 2016 were her three triple-doubles (assists/digs/kills), picking up the first known Auburn triple-double vs. Colgate in September (11k, 44a, 25d). Her kills and digs totals against Colgate were career highs.
Overall, Filley finished second on the team with 367 digs and a 2.98 average. She also reached the 1,000 dig milestone this year, becoming just the second setter in program history to accomplish the feat. Her 1,009 career digs rank 10th overall.
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